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One of the most commonly encountered problems during our carpet cleaning work is pet urine. Today we will discuss some DIY tips and tricks on cleaning up this (hopefully) occasional problem at home.

For a completely thorough article on pet urine removal from literally every surface you can think of, visit this pet website.

Why It is Important to Clean Pet Urine Accidents

Pet urine might actually be harmful for the environment you live in. Besides uncleaned urine stains harboring bacteria, urine also contains ammonia which is hazardous for your health if left sitting in a poorly ventilated area. You need to get rid of this unpleasant smell and sight as soon as possible!

The best solution is prevention. You want to train your pet not to want to urinate on your floor. Experts recommend spraying the floor with commercial repellents or more natural repellents like vinegar, lemon juice or rubbing alcohol. The smell is quite unpleasant to animals that they would not want to do their business there.

We will discuss cleaning urine from three types of flooring today.

Laminate Floors

Go to the offending area, and with a disposable towel, blot the affected area instead of rubbing (you don’t want to spread the urine around).

Then, scrub the floor with an enzymatic cleaner to completely get rid of any scent.

If you don’t like enzymatic cleaners, you can use this natural remedy—pour baking soda over the area, let it sit for 2 hours while it soaks the smell, then vacuum the area. Ta-da, your laminate floor is now urine free!​If you’re still not getting the smell out, then you should give us a holler!

Tiled Ceramic Floors

This type of flooring material is easier to clean than most other surfaces. You can easily blot out the urine, but if any urine went on the grout, we need a thorough cleaning there. Since grout is porous, it is very easy for urine to be soaked up.​To clean the grout—mix baking soda and water to make a paste (it is basically the same as toothpaste!). Then use a toothbrush to scrub the grout, similar to brushing your teeth. Wipe off the paste with a disposable towel and make sure you leave no residue behind.

Carpets

By far the most difficult floor material to clean urine stains. It will most likely require deep cleaning. But first, if you want to take a stab at it before calling us, your local professionals, here are the steps. Note: if your pet urinates on your carpet frequently, it may be time to replace your carpet.

If your pet urinates on your carpet, you want to catch the accident immediately.

First, pour a generous amount of warm water to dilute the stain. Then, mix water and vinegar and pour over the entire affected area to neutralize the smell. With a toothbrush, brush the area vigorously so that the vinegar and urine mix and neutralize each other. Use a vacuum to suck the moisture out.​After the initial liquid cleaning, sprinkle baking soda and (if you have it) hydrogen peroxide over the area and scrub it in the carpet. When this mixture dries, vacuum the floor. If the odor and stain is not gone after several repeats of this process, consult your local carpet cleaners. If you live in College Park, that means we’ll be expecting your call!